Integrated Urban Development Planning and Urban Development Management Strategies and instruments for sustainable urban development

Transkript

1 Integrated Urban Development Planning and Urban Development Management Strategies and instruments for sustainable urban development Position Paper by the German Association of Cities

2 Integrated Urban Development Planning and Urban Development Management Strategies and instruments for sustainable urban development Position Paper approved by the Board of the German Association of Cities at its 383rd meeting, held in Hanover on 22 March 2011 Published by: The German Association of Cities The translation of the paper was done with the kind support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH With contributions from members of the working group of the Urban Development Planning committee: Dr. Werner Heinz, Difu Berlin Maria Kröger, City of Cologne Dr. Petra Morschheuser, City of Nuremberg Dr. Hermann-Lambert Oediger, City of Stuttgart Stephan Reiß-Schmidt (Leitung), City of Munich Hartmut Thielen ( ),German Association of Cities Reinhard Wölpert, City of Leipzig Head Office: Timo Munzinger (Policy Officer) October 2013 German Association of Cities Berlin Head Office, Hausvogteiplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany, Phone +49(0)30/ , Fax +49(0)30/ Cologne Head Office, Gereonstraße 18-32, Cologne, Germany, Phone. +49(0)221/3771-0, Fax 49(0)221/ Internet: post@staedtetag.de

3 ISBN Deutscher Städtetag, Berlin und Köln 2013

4 3 List of Contents 1. Renaissance of integrated urban development strategies 2. Framework and challenges 3. Integrated urban development planning 3.1 Significance and general objectives 3.2 Function in the planning system, and fields of action 3.3 Tasks and modules 3.4 Actors, planning process and communication 3.5 Organisation and resources 4. Urban development management 5. Recommendations and demands Appendix A. Selected integrated urban development strategies B. Bibliography

5 4 Cities continue to be centres of knowledge, creativity and economic dynamism Current challenges will test urban development Citizens have great expectations regarding spatial and social equality of opportunity Strengthen local selfgovernment through sustainable integrated urban development Limitations of major projects and sectoral planning renaissance of integrated urban development strategies Leipzig Charter and Toledo Declaration call for integrated strategies for Europe s cities National Urban Development Policy Initiative as a forum for innovative strategies 1. Renaissance of integrated urban development strategies Cities, as places of knowledge and creativity, are the driving forces behind economic and social development, and will continue to be in the future. The years ahead will present special challenges to urban development policy: the growing social and spatial inequalities despite economic growth, the continuing high level of unemployment in many cities, the demographic and social changes affecting urban society, and also climate change will make great demands on the ability of cities to shape and control development. The structural crisis in local authority finances and the continuing sizeable fluctuations in trade tax revenue represent great risks to cities action options. These days, citizens tend to expect more services rather than fewer. They are demanding equal opportunities for urban neighbourhoods and for different social groups and generations, for women and men. To achieve sustainable urban development, it will be necessary to create a balance between conflicting social, economic and environmental objectives. In this situation there is a need to mobilise the cities resources and reinforce local self-government and general services to the public. Although the economic framework conditions and the development of society are not decided at local level, cities can nevertheless mobilise creativity and innovation in the field and can use long-term integrated strategies intelligently to make the most of their freedom of action. In the last few decades, urban development has been characterised by an alternation between systematic planning and a more situational and projectrelated incrementalism. As long ago as the 1960s, and especially in the 1970s, integrated urban planning enjoyed a first heyday, but few of these strategies were sufficiently implementation oriented. It was not uncommon for urban development plans to remain on the shelf as unrealistic and too expensive. There followed twenty years in which approaches like planning for (major) projects, neighbourhood planning, sectoral strategies, grassroots processes under the local Agenda 21 or model development, urban marketing or urban redevelopment strategies were tested with varying degrees of success. Since the 1990s there has been a renaissance of integrated strategic concepts for cities and urban regions under much changed framework conditions. It is no accident that in recent years congresses and specialist publications have increasingly been discussing a renaissance of integrated urban development planning today it is once again taken for granted as the standard in Europe. Against the background of great regional variations in economic structure and population development, the model of the spatially compact, mixed-use, socially and culturally integrating European city probably best meets the requirements of sustainable urban development. The Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities, which was adopted at the informal meeting of European urban development ministers on 24 May 2007, underlines the importance of cities for European development. It recommends a strategy of integrated urban development with the aim of ensuring effective bundling of scarce resources and counteracting the marginalisation of disadvantaged urban areas. This strategy of integrated urban development and renewal was confirmed by the Toledo Declaration of the EU urban development ministers on 22 June Against this background, a joint initiative for integrated and innovative urban development under the title of National Urban Development Policy was launched in 2007 by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, the conference of building ministers of the federal Länder

6 5 Urban Development Planning Committee s position papers and the local government central associations. It took up the complexity of urban development processes and organised projects, competitions, congresses and exhibitions to focus on the urgent need for cooperation between the actors concerned. It successfully supports innovative strategies and incorporates them in a nationwide exchange of experience. As long ago as 1991 the Expert Committee on Urban Development Planning of the German Association of Cities, which brings together urban development managers from some 30 German cities of various sizes, presented the position paper Steuerung der Stadtentwicklung Eine wichtige Aufgabe für die Städte im Westen wie im Osten Deutschlands ( Controlling urban development An important task for cities in Germany, both West and East ) as a working aid for cities in former eastern Germany in particular. In 2003 this was followed by a fundamental definition of the position of urban development planning entitled Zukunftssicherung durch integrierte Stadtentwicklungsplanung und Stadtentwicklungsmanagement ( Safeguarding the future by means of integrated urban development planning and urban development management ). With this revised and expanded version of the paper, the expert committee is seeking to make a fresh contribution to identifying the future challenges facing urban development policy and pursuing a targeted and methodical approach to tackling them under more difficult conditions. Tangible impacts of globalisation, structural risks and local authority financial crisis Local authority policy between legitimation crisis, market failure and increased relevance of public action 2. Framework and challenges Growing challenges accompanied by increasing uncertainty about forecasts and reduced financial scope that is how the starting point for the majority of local authorities in Germany has to be described at the beginning of From an economic and financial point of view the repercussions of the worldwide crisis on the financial markets and the economy as a whole are having a massive time-shifted impact on local authorities. Economic development will continue to be accompanied by concentration and shrinkage processes or insolvencies. Cities are feeling the direct consequences of globalisation: as a result of the economic downturn, trade tax revenue has fallen dramatically in 2009 the figure fell by 18 per cent nationwide. At the same time, social expenditure by local authorities rose to some EUR 40 billion nationwide; in 2009 the figure was twice as high as in the early 1990s. The present more stable situation and the favourable forecasts for 2011 must not be allowed to obscure the high risk factors that continue to exist for local authority revenue. In the medium term the fluctuations in trade tax revenue give rise to considerable uncertainty in the planning field. Even if labour market experts expect the national unemployment figure to drop below three million by mid-2011, many cities and regions face substantial risks for the local labour market especially for older and less qualified persons and hence also for local authority social expenditure. From a social policy point of view, the situation is characterised by diverse and to some extent conflicting developments for example by legitimation deficits on the part of the state, which are reflected in falling voter turnout even in local elections. The failure of market mechanisms that is evident from the recent financial and property market crises has lent new significance to public action and political control of the globalised markets. Finally, the framework within which local authorities can act is characterised by the search for ways and means of sustainable development. Preserving

7 6 Sustainable urban development as a viable and stimulating paradigm Europe increasingly defining the framework for local authority activities Information economics increase competition between cities and regions Local economics gaining importance Poverty, precarious employment and unemployment polarise urban society Unequal social and spatial distribution of risks the basis of life for future generations and making sparing use of resources forms today s basis for economic and administrative activities and for securing social welfare. At the same time, increasing numbers of businesses are waking up to the economic opportunities offered by this development sustainability is also an economic factor and a driver for attractive cities with high quality of life. The European Union has created an additional policy and administration level with legislation that has a direct and indirect influence on a growing number of local authority fields of activity. About 75 per cent of EU regulations and directives have to be observed and implemented at regional and local level. At the same time the EU, through its policy on deregulation and competition, is increasingly calling into question the traditional way German cities see their role as committed to the public interest. In view of this complex framework of conditions for local authority action, seven challenges for cities and urban regions will become especially important in future: The globalisation of markets is accompanied by increasing internationalisation of industry. At the same time the shift from an industrial society to a service and information society is continuing. As a result, competition between cities and regions is increasing competition for businesses, qualified employees for these businesses, creative minds, families. Businesses are becoming less location-dependent and more anonymous, their local ties are weakening. Employees are often faced with decisions about their jobs that are taken in far distant places. As a result, small and medium companies and the local economy are (once again) growing in importance for cities. Increased polarisation of income and growing numbers of poor and socially disadvantaged population groups have accompanied the changes in economic structure since the 1980s. According to the German Government s Poverty and Wealth Report 2009, 14.3 per cent of all households in Germany are classified as poor. Despite the falling national unemployment rate, unemployment and the erosion of traditional normal employment contracts, with an increase in precarious employment in the form of temporary jobs and hired labour or mini-jobs, remain a major social risk factor especially for older and less qualified employees. This results in fragmented job histories and, for growing numbers of employees, in a decline in ties with their work, their workplace and the town where they work. At the same time labour migration is becoming a social reality, combined with growing numbers of people who live on their own because of their job situation. Gainful employment is increasingly losing its function as a glue that holds society together and as a stable material basis for life. There are great variations in the extent to which these risks affect different regions, cities, urban districts and groups such as citizens with or without migration background, women and men, young and old. Educational poverty accounts for a considerable proportion of poverty today, and conversely education is an essential precondition for social advancement. Young people without school-leaving qualifications, problems with the transition from

8 7 Education as a key factor for integration and social equilibrium Declining integration capacity of urban society neighbourhood ties and new forms of civic engagement gaining importance Differentiated mosaic of shrinkage, growth and ageing in cities Demographic stability becoming an important test criterion for sustainable urban development Climate change mitigation and adaptation broaden the repertoire of sustainable, compact and resourceconserving strategies school to working life, or lack of language skills (not only among children and young people with a migration background) are only a few examples of the challenges facing cities here today. Individual deficits add up to unemployment, social segregation and macroeconomic disadvantages. Urban society is becoming more fragile and is characterised by individualisation and separation. Economic, social and ethnic differences can give rise to parallel societies within cities, and a decline in the integration capacity of urban society. The importance of the precinct or neighbourhood as the central integration level is growing; new demands are emerging on the social space orientation of urban development planning and urban redevelopment strategies. Falling voter turnout and the declining relevance of the major people s parties are clear indicators of a dwindling interest in local authority activities in some sections of the population. At the same time, though often in other sections of the population, new forms of civic engagement are gaining in importance. Direct participation, e.g. through referendums and participatory budgeting, are examples of how socially secure and well informed population groups make an active contribution to local authority processes. Social and demographic change, i.e. the development of population figures, age structure and lifestyles, is a central challenge for all cities but one with widely differing local and regional manifestations. An increasingly large group of local authorities with mounting average age and decreasing population numbers contrasts with a smaller group of growing cities. Some of this growth is due to migration from regions in eastern Germany to the prosperous regions of south and west Germany. But even the core cities in these regions are to some extent affected by selective emigration young and well qualified groups in particular are on the decline even in some growth areas. Housing and labour markets, infrastructure requirements and utilisation are directly dependent on demographic developments. Demographic stability is therefore becoming an important test criterion for sustainable urban development. In many urban regions, ongoing suburbanisation of people and jobs is also creating a need for increased inter-community cooperation and fair sharing of burdens and benefits between the city core and the periphery. Climate change is making itself felt at local authority level as well. Cities account for a large share of energy consumption due to buildings, production and traffic; a large proportion of climate-damaging emissions is produced here. Climate change mitigation makes it necessary to re-evaluate and supplement the familiar bundles of measures in sustainable urban development, such as compact endogenous development, a mix of uses, short distances, and priority for bicycles, pedestrians and public transport. Transformation of the energy system (energy saving, efficiency improvements, use of renewable energy) is also on the local authority agenda. Adaptation of cities to the impacts of climate change is growing more important. For example, climate change means changing requirements with regard to green spaces as cold air sources

9 8 Privatisation of public tasks and economisation of the administration is leading to decline in local authorities powers of control and management and fresh air corridors, the dimensioning of wastewater systems and dykes, and city health care services. The privatisation of public tasks and economisation of the administration has reduced local authorities capacity to manage and control, making it more difficult to enforce a uniform urban policy in the face of the propensity of administrative units and urban societies to take an independent course. In addition, the large number of sectoral utility associations in important infrastructure sectors of functionally aggregated urban concentrations has led to a reduction in the control powers of local authority self-government bodies; it is becoming increasingly difficult to coordinate sectoral policies. Commitment to public interest, equal opportunities and gender mainstreaming as core elements Pay special attention to weak actors, interests of future generations, and large-scale impacts The search for equilibrium dimensions of the sustainable city 3. Integrated urban development planning 3.1. Significance and general objectives In the first instance, urban development planning is committed to serving the public interest and giving it concrete shape at local authority level. Its purpose is to ensure equal opportunity for different sub-areas and different social and age groups in urban society; this includes gender-appropriate planning (gender mainstreaming). By means of consensual solutions (or at least acceptable compromises) it can ensure a fair balance of conflicting interests in the face of growing social and spatial inequalities, and thereby help to preserve social harmony. Citizens who feel adversely affected by planning often make vehement calls for public planning to take a stand against business interests and private projects. Also, it is not unusual for complex long-term public infrastructure projects to be the subject of resistance from a local perspective. Here urban development planning faces the challenge of making it possible for even stakeholder groups with structurally weak representation to take part in planning processes and safeguard their interests, without fostering a not in my backyard attitude. First of all, it should ensure broad factual information and equal opportunities for participation. Long-term and large-scale (city-wide, regional) impacts and the interests of future generations that are not directly represented also have to be taken into account in planning and decision processes. Future-oriented urban development gives equal consideration to economic, environmental, social and cultural dimensions of the sustainable city. Integrated strategic urban development planning means searching for a technically responsible and politically viable equilibrium between these dimensions.

10 9 Fig. 1: Action framework and dimensions of sustainable urban development No uniform standards content and methods determined by local challenges and planning practices Recent Difu study confirms trend towards integrated strategies and diverse approaches There is no clear definition of urban development planning and its strategies, neither is there any binding organisational assignment or any statutory procedures. The diversity of local conditions and requirements rules out standardised solutions. Urban development planning deals with the structured elaboration of models, guidelines and action programmes. Supplemented by systematic urban development management (cf. Chapter 4), it also provides instruments for their targeted implementation. A recent study by the German Institute for Urban Studies (Difu) entitled Integrated Urban Development in Urban Areas, which was sponsored by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), investigated how integrated urban development planning is understood in Germany today. The findings confirm the trend towards a redefinition of integrated urban development at local authority level: Unlike urban development planning in the 1960s and 1970s, it is considerably more project oriented and implementation oriented, has a citywide and/or more localised perspective, tends to be oriented towards combining sectoral objectives in an integrated context, and is characterised by a wide range of governance forms. The integrated urban development planning has thus given way to a broad spectrum of new integrated approaches. In practice, a wide range of aspects are integrated in urban development strategies, e.g.: Spatial levels from urban district to region, Diverse fields of action and departments, Private and public finance and promotion instruments, Diverse actors and organisational structures. Above all, it is the link between strategy and implementation that characterises a new generation of urban development strategies.

11 10 Integrated urban development planning as an informal instrument broadens the system of official planning 3.2. Function in the planning system, and fields of action Integrated urban development planning is not an additional formal planning level, but an informal, target-oriented and implementation-oriented strategic control instrument. Increasing uncertainty factors in forecasts and increasingly rapid changes in the framework of global and regional conditions are creating a growing need for adaptable strategies and planning processes. With its cooperative methods, integrated urban development planning broadens the system of official planning and opens it up not only to civic engagement and participation, but also to marketoriented forms of action (e.g. urban development contracts, PPP, privatepublic project companies). By no means least, urban development planning coordinates between spatial levels and between sectoral plans and sectoral policies. On the other hand it makes use of the formal instruments, such as physical development planning or sectoral planning, for its implementation. Fig. 2: Urban development planning and urban development management in the spatial planning system Integrated strategic urban development planning as a core element of local authority planning powers needs to be enshrined in the Federal Building Code Broad spectrum of themes in integrated strategies for region, entire cities and urban districts Today, strategic and integrated urban development planning has become an essential precondition for efficient, future-oriented exercise of local authority planning powers. In the present local authority financial crisis, however, its human and financial resources and its organisational structures are being treated by many cities as a luxury, an item to juggle with in budget consolidation processes. The necessary understanding of integrated urban development planning as a mandatory obligation of local self-government is currently being impeded by a lack of generally recognised and communicated quality criteria, minimum requirements for content and method, and also a lack of clear (re-) enshrinement in the Federal Building Code (BauGB) as a basis for proper weighing up of planning considerations. As well as the central challenges of globalisation, demographic and social change and climate change that all cities are faced with, it is above all local problems, political priorities, local constraints or freedom of action, and local planning practices that determine the thematic and spatial dimensions of integrated urban development strategies. The relevant fields of action at the levels of region, entire city and urban districts cover a very broad range.

12 11 The principal cross-cutting topics of strategic significance are: International outlook, cooperation between European cities Taking advantage of opportunities created by the increasing international connections between cities; promoting cultural and business exchange as an indispensable requirement for competitiveness and integration. Metropolitan regions, cooperation between cities and their surrounding area Positioning and cooperation in metropolitan regions; clear profile for city region, e.g. through regional marketing and regional strategies/master plans for retail trade, housing and transport; developing inter-authority solutions and efficient division of labour. Business, academia and creativity Promoting locational conditions for knowledge production and creativity, e.g. by developing and strengthening city-integrated university and research sites, safeguarding research-oriented production locations, networking business and academia in industry clusters, preserving and promoting mixed-use quarters, promoting the local economy. Social cohesion and integration Ensuring equality of opportunity and smoothing out social and spatial disparities, gender and generation mainstreaming; supporting a mixed population structure through integration offers for citizens with a migration background; stabilising neighbourhoods using cultural diversity as an opportunity. City as home Ensuring an appropriate, differentiated supply of housing for different target/age groups, including subsidised housing and special residential forms; conversion and modernisation, if necessary refurbishing existing homes and improving their surroundings; promoting city-centre/urban life and living city neighbourhoods. Education and care Developing demographically adaptable infrastructures, expanding educational and care facilities for all people of all origins and age groups, including as a precondition for integration; upgrading schools to a full-day learning and meeting place in the neighbourhood. Climate change mitigation and adaptation / energy shift Taking precautions (mitigation) by reducing CO2 emissions from energy generation (increasing the share of cogeneration and renewable energy), heating/air conditioning, transport and industry; improving energy efficiency, e.g. by means of compact, mixed urban structures and car-less short-range mobility and energy-saving refurbishment of existing buildings. Adapting to climate change, e.g. with green spaces and green corridors for cooling and ventilating densely built-up neighbourhoods, flood water retention and control, improving urban air quality by means of environment zones, truck bans etc. as part of air quality control planning.

13 12 Moreover, further material dimensions and sectoral focuses of urban development may be of local or regional importance depending on the initial situation and local authority priorities regarding quality of life: Sparing use of land, spatial management Compact internal development through redensification and restructuring; using closed-cycle land management and building land management as strategic instruments; promoting mixed uses and city of short distances. City-friendly mobility culture, noise abatement Reducing motorised individual traffic within the city by means of parking space management and attractive alternatives; city-friendly and climate-friendly (local) mobility through compact, varied settlement structures with attractive conditions for pedestrians and cyclists, and promotion of electric mobility pilot projects, especially in urban business traffic; filling gaps in cycle network and public transport; mobility management, improved intermodality and mobility services; town planning and technical measures to reduce noise levels and to safeguard quiet areas under noise action plans. Green in the city Interlink city and countryside spaces by means of green belts/green corridors, improve greenery supply in densely built-up city districts (e.g. pocket parks, greened roofs and frontages) and improve accessibility and quality of use of parks and landscape spaces; develop potential for urban and suburban agriculture/food production; restore / revitalise water bodies also in conjunction with flood control; preserve animal and plant habitats in the city, soil conservation. Urban and architectural culture Upgrade and design public spaces; promote contemporary architecture and town planning quality through competitions and advisory councils or an international building exhibition; town-planning protection of monuments as an instrument for urban development and strengthening local identity. Development of centres and retail trade Graduated hierarchy of centres, further develop district centres not only for retail trade, but also as cultural and social focal points; ensure retail trade development that is integrated the city structure and city planning, and local food supplies that are easily reached from home on foot or by bicycle. Culture, leisure and sport Improve quality of life through cultural diversity and scope for creativity; promote living district culture and varied opportunities for mass sports; create profile in competition between cities by means of city marketing and strategic events, e.g. cultural festivals, European cultural capital, federal and regional garden shows, major sporting events.

14 13 Urban development strategies as umbrella brand for modules, procedural rules and quality criteria 3.3. Tasks and modules Apart from thematic focuses and depth of detail, integrated and strategic urban development planning comprises a number of recurring tasks. In practice these are not usually a simple linear series, but form the modules of an interlinked system with numerous feedback loops (cf. Chapter 3.4). Today it is common to find a specific mix of instruments and methods for the individual tasks and constellations. Integrated urban development strategies as the result of urban development planning work processes often form a kind of umbrella brand for a large number of different modules: Management and networking Networking at regional level and between various public and private actors in urban and regional development, project management for lead projects and action programmes in urban development; initiating and managing cooperative ventures and projects in metropolitan regions and at European level; coordinating strategically important sectoral planning, infrastructure projects and bids for major international events (e.g. cultural capital, Olympic Games). Promoting a public dialogue about urban development, new forms of public participation Urban development as an opportunity for active participation by the public; expanding opportunities for civic engagement, testing innovative strategies for mobilising specific target groups. Monitoring at the level of districts or quarters Small-scale, systematic and long-term observation (monitoring) of social, economic or environmental differentiation processes with a manageable number of indicators (from 5 to a maximum of 20) serves as an early warning system in urban (district) development. Attention should be paid to risks such as stigmatisation effects, undifferentiated use of results without sufficient references etc. Basis for planning: Analyses, scenarios and forecasts Use official statistics and, increasingly, data from administrative enforcement, official registers (e.g. residents registration records) and from market research and other private data sources; for specific issues it is also necessary to undertake primary data collection such as surveys, data from (satellite-based) remote sensing and special expert investigations. Basic planning data can also stake out the framework for sectoral planning and private actors. Long-term models, guidelines and objectives as a guidance framework for private and public actors They form the core of integrated urban development strategies and should be linked with the operational target systems of administrative management and also with the implementing level of the sectoral departments. The definition of model projects and action areas (target districts) of urban development is an example of an interface. Sectoral and (partially) integrated action programmes for entire cities or parts of cities Lead projects and action programmes for key topics or focus areas are important instruments for implementing guidelines of urban development, and link them with medium-term investment planning and with annual budget planning. Evaluation of guidelines, processes and results Evaluation or controlling as an indispensable element in the control cycle of urban development planning serves to systematically review the progress or impacts of strategies, programmes and measures (cf. Chapter 4); it should include coverage of their different impacts on men and women (gender mainstreaming).

15 14 Council decision or external impulses as triggers for urban development strategies Limits of departmental administration setups Project structures and other forms of interdepartmental cooperation 3.4. Actors, planning process and communication The grounds and reasons for drawing up integrated urban development strategies vary, e.g. an assignment by the city or local council or the administration management, or the requirement in certain countries for an integrated urban development strategy as a precondition for assistance in the form of city refurbishment or redevelopment funds. There are also individual initiatives by the administration or support for third-party projects. There may be corresponding differences in the actors involved, their roles and the structure of the planning processes. For example, amalgamation to form metropolitan regions of diverse formal character calls for public-public and public-private cooperation with various levels including on a crossborder basis. Private-public partnerships and projects have become increasingly important for urban development. The administrations, which in larger cities in particular are highly differentiated from a sectoral point of view and are organised on the basis of separate departments, are increasingly unable to cater for the complexity of urban development on their own. That is why project structures, coordinating units, working and steering groups are increasingly being developed and used with success as forms of inter-departmental cooperation in the administration. Fig. 3: Integrated urban development planning as an interface between various actors Diversity of actors and forms of cooperation, urban development planning as an interface Urban development planning and management are carried on in widely differing constellations of actors even outside the field of administration and local authority policy. The addressees of official plans, who in traditional approaches often only start to play an active role once the plan is decided, are becoming cooperating partners. The motto is negotiate rather than command. In this way, integrated urban development planning and management form an intermediate interface between various actors and levels, especially between the political or administrative levels, private market actors and the general public. The democratically legitimated city council (and the administration on its behalf) has to define transparent rules and a discretionary decision framework for such cooperative planning processes and take the final decision on conflicts of interests and objectives. This may be supplemented by referendums, which can play a corrective and pacifying role in conflicts of a particularly controversial and fundamental nature.

16 15 Conflicts of objectives must be resolved by democratically legitimated decisions Bundling of resources/ assistance funds through spatial integration Action areas as an instrument Instead of the classic hierarchy of formal planning steps and levels, flexible and open control cycles have proved their value in urban development planning. This is not just a one-way street leading from models and guidelines through strategies to the project level, but also involves an iterative counter-flow in which the operational or district level frequently feeds back valuable ideas and corrections to the objective and strategy level. Material and organisational synergies require sectoral and spatial integration. For example, district-specific strategies need to be embedded in city-level or regional strategies that permit conclusions about framework conditions, priorities and quality criteria. Spatial integration of relevant fields of action or projects in action areas at the strategy and concept level also creates the preconditions for effective bundling of human and physical resources from different departments and different assistance programmes at the implementation level. One precondition for effective bundling of resources is that the sectoral departments involved should not only be prepared to engage in strategic cooperation, but should also have explicit long-term strategies of their own. To date, however, many departments have tended to play a reactive rather than pro-active role and operate on a short-term basis. Fig. 4: Urban development control cycle Communication by internet and social media growing more important Pictures permit emotional access to complex issues As well as the press and the indispensable personal contacts in workshops, discussion forums, committee meetings, citizens assemblies etc., the Internet in particular is becoming increasingly important as a medium for communication processes in urban development planning for certain age and lifestyle groups. This applies not only to dissemination of information, but also to interactive and dialogueoriented forms of participation such as blogs, chat-rooms and social networks like twitter or facebook. Another change in forms of communication can be summed up as more pictures. Concepts that are abstract or look far into the future are often difficult to describe in words. Strategies have to be visualised living scenarios and clear illustrations can be used to make complex future issues emotionally accessible. To involve citizens from migrant backgrounds it is becoming increasingly necessary to have questionnaires and information media in several

17 16 Test new and mobilising communication channels and forms of participation languages and to use mother-tongue moderators or communicators. Here too, there is a need to use group-specific communication channels such as local TV stations or print media, or even unusual forms such as mailshotvideos (as successfully used in Copenhagen, for example). With the usual communication channels and instruments of urban development planning it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach and mobilise certain social and age groups in urban society. Even using moderators and communicators does not always produce the desired results. Developing and testing new communication channels and forms of participation is therefore an important task. Organisational position of urban development planning Requirements for effective urban development planning 3.5. Organisation and resources Urban development planning occupies different positions in the administrative organisation of major German cities. Three basic variants can be observed. The function may be attached to: Administration Management, integrated in a staff department or in an office or department of its own, sometimes together with statistics and urban research or combined with central administration control tasks; Town Planning, possibly in combination with urban renewal or land-use planning; Economic Affairs. Assignment to the administration management has the advantage that the chief administrator is able to control strategic urban development planning for the entire administration; however, the choice of model in the individual case is determined by a wide variety of local, historical and personal situations and also political considerations. Their effects are scarcely susceptible of objective appraisal or systematic evaluation. Examples of effective and professional urban development offices can be found in all organisational forms. Regardless of the administrative organisation in the individual case, the following requirements in particular are essential for urban development departments to perform their tasks efficiently: Support for city management and politics Acceptance by all actors involved also thanks to a certain independence of sector-specific partial interests Cross-cutting (project-specific, limited-term) project, working and steering groups with clear competencies and decision rules Direct integration in projects of importance for urban development policy and decisions by the chief administrators and the city council Effective linkage (possibly lead management) with central management, budget planning and medium-term investment planning Separate budget independent of projects for expert reports, surveys and analyses, public participation and PR work, and also for initiating and possibly providing kick-off finance for innovative projects.

18 17 Varied staff with interdisciplinary qualifications as an important resource Masters degree provides qualification for complex planning tasks Wherever its organisational home, urban development planning must above all be equipped with the necessary financial and human resources to enable it to recruit and retain qualified personnel. Urban development units must be staffed with scientifically qualified experts with administrative and professional experience from a range of disciplines. The spectrum ranges from architecture, regional or town planning through landscape and environmental planning and geography to social, political, legal, administrative and economic sciences. Even career changers with different job experience can be an enriching factor. Regardless of their specific technical background, skills in communication, moderation and management are among the indispensable key qualifications for urban development planning. Other requirements are openness, creative imagination, flexibility, stress resistance and social skills when reconciling divergent interests, including in conflict situations. Varied job and life experience of the members of teams which should if possible consist of a balanced mix not only in terms of professional ability, but also with regard to gender and age structure, have proved very helpful for the specific tasks of integrated urban development planning. For the most part, the new Bachelor degrees introduced under the university degree reform do not satisfy the necessary requirements, because the qualification they confer is not so much geared to holistic, strategic, conceptual thinking and working, but rather to project-specific outcomes orientation. Many of the new Masters courses, by contrast, impart the competencies necessary for integrated and strategic planning. Urban development management links money, time, land, personnel and law 4. Urban development management Integrated urban development planning cannot be limited to making plans. Its implementation requires strategic and cooperative urban development management. This essentially comprises systematic linking of guidelines and strategies with scarce resources (time, money, personnel, law, land) by means of spatial and/or thematic action programmes. The main instruments here are medium-term investment and budget planning, assistance programmes and agreements, and a cross-cutting medium and long-term management system for land, infrastructure and planning to ensure timely creation of the planning-law and infrastructural conditions for projects of importance to urban development policy. Cutting across departments and actors, urban development management can be used at the various levels of the planning process in the form of: Planning (process) management to coordinate and network all planning steps from target identification, through the preparation of strategies, establishment of building rights, provision of land and financial planning, to evaluation. Information and communication management to control all planning-related and implementation-specific communication processes of urban development planning or strategic city marketing (city-wide, district-specific and project-specific). Project and implementation management to coordinate the process of implementing lead projects of importance to urban development policy. Quality management to optimise qualities and effects, e.g. with guidelines/lists of criteria, competitions, advisory groups, monitoring and evaluation.

19 18 Evaluation of urban development strategies calls for discursive methods Use evaluation as a learning process and basis for updating strategies Risks and methodological limits of certification in urban development Develop and refine monitoring and quality management as goaloriented tools Evaluation, as an important quality management tool, has only been used at the level of integrated urban development planning in a few pilot projects. Unlike the evaluation of assistance programmes, individual projects or indicator-based operational controlling in the context of local authority accounting, evaluation of integrated urban development strategies cannot work entirely with standardised and fully quantified methods. The models, guidelines and objectives in such strategies are usually complex and only partially quantified, or as yet relatively unspecific at the level of measures. As a rule, moreover, it is impossible to distinguish the impact of strategic plans and concepts clearly from other social and economic factors. A mix of methods should therefore be used when evaluating integrated urban development strategies: Quantitative indicators for measuring planning results and changes in framework conditions where possible and practicable. Qualitative evaluation of guidelines/objectives, lead projects and planning and implementation processes, e.g. through analysis of documents, structured expert discussions, annual strategy workshops etc.; both internal and external actors should be involved. Trend arrows and bandwidths to represent achievement of objectives in guidelines and lead projects instead of (apparently) spot-on measurements. In addition to the objectives/guidelines and lead projects, evaluation should also include the communication, planning and decision processes. It cannot take place round the conference table, but has to be worked out in a dialogue with internal and selected external actors. This dialogue approach goes beyond mere appraisal or measurement of planning results: it is a learning process for all concerned, which can be put to good use in developing and improving the urban development strategy. Evaluation can be carried out on completion of planning and implementation processes (or important milestones); or it may accompany the process or even precede it as input evaluation. There has recently been discussion of the possibility of certification not only of buildings, but also of existing or planned urban districts; for example, in connection with initiatives of international property developers and financers, in the context of implementing the Leipzig Charter ( reference framework ) at federal/regional level, and among central housing and local authority associations. The methodological limits of reducing complex social and spatial structures to a simple assessment scale, as used in certification processes, and the risks of stigmatisation of urban districts by assessment systems that are only seemingly transparent are patently obvious. Confining evaluation to the constructional results of urban development strategies would be totally inadequate. It would make more sense to continue developing and possibly to standardise methods and instruments of systematic monitoring and of comprehensive active quality management in integrated urban development. This could also make it easier to compare urban development strategies between different cities.

20 19 Six quality criteria of the German Association of Cities for integrated urban development strategies 1. Political legitimation and commitment, value orientation City council decisions on planning mandate and planning results with selfbinding effect; equal opportunity as a standard ethical basis, e.g. between different social or age groups, men and women, and between urban districts/social spaces. 2. Communication in open and structured planning processes Integration of internal (city council, administration) and external actors (industry, associations, societies, citizens...) in forms of committed cooperation; communication management between levels and actors; cross-cutting project and steering groups with binding planning of time and tasks. 3. Scientific and analytical empirical basis Structured planning information landscape with standardised statistical indicators, methods and models: comparative studies, analyses of strengths and weaknesses, surveys, forecasts, scenarios etc. 4. Spatial orientation, visualisation and integration Link strategic guidelines with action areas (urban districts, quarters, social spaces) and visions of the future; integration of various spatial levels (region - city - urban district - quarter) and their interactions; integration of main fields of action. 5. Connection with implementation, time and finance, flexibility Linking long-term strategic guidelines with lead projects and (if necessary, district-level/sectoral) medium-term action programmes; integration and conformity of objectives of investment and budget planning (short-term measures promoting long-term objectives); bundling resources from various departments/assistance programmes, if necessary in combination with private investment; flexible prioritisation and creation of implementation stages; ability to adapt to unforeseen developments by regular updating on the basis of evaluation. 6. Evaluation of guidelines, lead projects and planning processes Evaluable objectives/guidelines, transparent indicators, combination of qualitative and quantitative indicator-based and dialogue-based evaluation methods; evaluation as learning process and basis for optimising strategies, programmes and planning processes.